On Friday, Aardvark Books in the Castro will close after 40 years in business.

"We made this decision partially for personal reasons," the store's Facebook page read. "However, we hope that you will continue to support other independent bookstores in San Francisco and around the Bay Area."

Aardvark's Church Street residence, formerly home to the Electric Theatre cinema, was sold for $2.43 million in October. The sale was first reported by Hoodline.

Aardvark was the kind of place in which you rarely found what you were looking for: That was altogether the point. It was best to enter the shop without a destination in mind.

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For over four decades, the store's shelves have been crammed with used treasures sold at prices reminiscent of another time. If Dog Eared Books rejected your resale pile, they'd send you down the street to Aardvark. There, surely, you could swap your underlined copy of "Swann's Way" from college or your vintage yoga instruction manual for a fistful of dollars. Aardvark served as a home for misfit toys, all of whom were watched over by its resident feline, a friendly tabby named Owen.

It was a rare occasion to find pockets of space on Aardvark's shelves. Placing a book back where you found it was a feat requiring upper body strength. But a recent visit to the store revealed empty holes that once housed a colorful collection of fiction, philosophy, criticism and every other genre of literature one could hope to find in 3,125 square feet. Signs in the store's window advertised announced the "End of Days" and "All things 50% off." Even the light fixtures and shelves must go.

Announced the store's Facebook page: "Everything must go (except Owen)!"

John McMurtrie, the San Francisco Chronicle books editor, contributed to this report.